Method to control image processing apparatus, image processing apparatus, and image file

ABSTRACT

A method to control an image processing apparatus includes obtaining linkage information representing a relation between a plurality of image files and recording the linkage information as metadata in each of the plurality of image files. This method ensures that a large number of image files are more easily and conveniently classified since linkage information representing relations between a plurality of image files is recorded as metadata in each of the plurality of image files.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a Continuation Application of prior application Ser. No.12/397,397, filed on Mar. 4, 2009 in the United States Patent andTrademark Office, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) fromKorean Patent Application No. 2008-0063949, filed on Jul. 2, 2008 in theKorean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which isincorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present general inventive concept relates to an image file, an imageprocessing apparatus, and a method to control an image processingapparatus, and more particularly, to an image file, an image processingapparatus, and a method to control an image processing apparatus such asa digital camera to capture and record (store) images in a file formator an image viewer of a computer, a PMP, or the like.

2. Description of the Related Art

Digital image processing apparatuses such as digital cameras or digitalcamcorders have become generalized and widely used along withdevelopment of image capture technologies and digital signal processingtechnologies. A number of image files created through image capture (orshooting) is rapidly increasing since digital image capture devices thatuse storage devices with relatively large storage capacity are notnegatively impacted by the capacity of storage for recording capturedimages, unlike classical analog image capture devices. Users typicallyclassify and store captured image files by events.

However, as the number of image files has significantly increased,classifying and managing image files by users is increasingly difficult.Users generally classify image files by time or event. However, in thiscase, all image files that were created at the same date are classifiedas the same group based on a creation date and are not generallydiscriminated amongst each other.

In addition, searching for images that satisfy a specific condition in alarge amount of image files to be checked one by one by a user takes along period of time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present general inventive concept provides an image file, an imageprocessing apparatus, and a method to control an image processingapparatus, wherein linkage information representing relations between aplurality of image files is recorded as metadata in each of theplurality of image files, so that a large number of image files are moreeasily and conveniently classified.

Additional aspects and/or utilities of the general inventive conceptwill be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part,will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice ofthe general inventive concept.

The foregoing and/or other aspects and utilities of the present generalinventive concept may be achieved by providing a method to control animage processing apparatus, the method including obtaining linkageinformation representing a relation between a plurality of image files,and recording the linkage information as metadata in each of theplurality of image files.

The method may further include identifying image files satisfying apredetermined condition among the plurality of image files based on thelinkage information.

The method may further include determining a link relation between theplurality of image files based on the linkage information.

The linkage information recorded in the metadata of each of theplurality of image files may include information of levels, relative tothe image file, of other image files of the plurality of image files,the relative levels being classified into upper and lower levels.

The foregoing and/or other aspects and utilities of the present generalinventive concept may also be achieved by providing a method to controlan image processing apparatus, the method including obtaining aplurality of image files created by one shooting operation in acontinuous shooting mode, obtaining linkage information representing arelation between the plurality of image files based on an order in whichthe plurality of image files are created, and recording the linkageinformation as metadata in each of the plurality of image files.

The linkage information recorded in the metadata of each of theplurality of image files may include information of levels, relative tothe image file, of other image files of the plurality of image files,the relative levels being classified into upper and lower levels.

A first created image file among the plurality of image files may beclassified as an upper level and each of remaining image files among theplurality of image files may be classified as a lower level.

The image processing apparatus may be a digital camera, and at least onephotograph is taken while a user presses a shutter release button of thedigital camera in the continuous shooting mode to create at least onecorresponding image file.

The foregoing and/or other aspects and utilities of the present generalinventive concept may also be achieved by providing a method to controlan image processing apparatus, the method including displaying aplurality of image files on a screen, receiving a determination of arelation between the plurality of image files, obtaining linkageinformation representing a relation between the plurality of image filesbased on a selection made for the determination of the relation, andrecording the linkage information as metadata in each of the pluralityof image files.

The linkage information recorded in the metadata of each of theplurality of image files may include information of levels, relative tothe image file, of other image files of the plurality of image files,the relative levels being classified into upper and lower levels.

The determination of the relation between the plurality of image filesmay include selecting an image file from the plurality of image files asan upper-level image file and selecting each of remaining image filesamong the plurality of image files as a lower-level image file.

The image processing apparatus may include a display unit to display theplurality of image files on a screen, and the selection of the upper andlower-level image files of the plurality of image files is made througha user selection for the plurality of image files displayed on thescreen of the display unit.

The foregoing and/or other aspects and utilities of the present generalinventive concept may also be achieved by providing a method to controlan image processing apparatus, the method including obtaining a firstimage file; obtaining a second image file created as the first imagefile is edited, obtaining linkage information representing a relationbetween the first and second image files, and recording the linkageinformation as metadata in each of the first and second image files.

Linkage information recorded in metadata of each of a plurality of imagefiles may include the first and second image files includes informationof levels, relative to the image file, of other image files of theplurality of image files, the relative levels being classified intoupper and lower levels.

The first image file may be classified as an upper level and the secondimage file created as the first image file is edited is classified as alower level.

The method may further include obtaining a third image file created asthe second image file is edited, and classifying the second image fileas an upper level above the third image file and classifying the thirdimage file created as the second image file is edited as a lower levelbelow the second image file.

The foregoing and/or other aspects and utilities of the present generalinventive concept may also be achieved by providing a method to controlan image processing apparatus, the method including displaying aplurality of image files, each including metadata in which linkageinformation representing a relation with other image files is recorded,on a screen, reading the linkage information of each of the plurality ofimage files, and displaying the plurality of image files at new displaypositions determined based on the linkage information.

The linkage information recorded in the metadata of each of theplurality of image files may include information of levels, relative tothe image file, of other image files of the plurality of image files,the relative levels being classified into upper and lower levels.

The display positions of the plurality of image files may be determinedbased on the relative levels of the plurality of image files.

The foregoing and/or other aspects and utilities of the present generalinventive concept may also be achieved by providing an image processingapparatus including a storage unit to store a plurality of image files,and a controller to obtain linkage information representing a relationbetween the plurality of image files and to record the linkageinformation as metadata in each of the plurality of image files.

The foregoing and/or other aspects and utilities of the present generalinventive concept may also be achieved by providing an image fileincluding image data, and metadata in which linkage informationrepresenting a relation with other image files is recorded.

The linkage information recorded in the metadata of the image file mayinclude information of levels, relative to the image file, of the otherimage files, the relative levels being classified into upper and lowerlevels.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects and utilities of the general inventiveconcept will become apparent and more readily appreciated from thefollowing description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a system to control an image processing deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present general inventive concept;

FIG. 2 illustrates metadata of an image file according to an embodimentof the present general inventive concept;

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate a method to classify image files according toan embodiment of the present general inventive concept;

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate a method to control an image processingapparatus according to an embodiment of the present general inventiveconcept;

FIGS. 5A to 5E illustrate link relations of image files created by themethod to control an image processing apparatus illustrated in FIGS. 4Aand 4B;

FIG. 6 illustrates a method to control an image processing apparatusaccording to another embodiment of the present general inventiveconcept;

FIG. 7 illustrates link relations of image files created by the methodto control an image processing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 illustrates a system to control an image processing deviceaccording to another embodiment of the present general inventiveconcept;

FIG. 9 illustrates a method to control an image processing apparatusaccording to another embodiment of the present general inventiveconcept;

FIG. 10 illustrates link relations of image files created by the methodto control an image processing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 illustrates a method to control an image processing apparatusaccording to another embodiment of the present general inventiveconcept;

FIG. 12 illustrates link relations of image files created by the methodto control an image processing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 illustrates a method to control an image processing apparatusaccording to an embodiment of the present general inventive concept; and

FIG. 14 illustrates how image files are displayed according to themethod to control an image processing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 13.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the presentgeneral inventive concept, examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the likeelements throughout. The embodiments are described below to explain thepresent general inventive concept by referring to the figures.

FIG. 1 illustrates a system to control an image processing deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present general inventive concept. Asillustrated in FIG. 1, an image capture element 104, an input unit 106,and a GPS receiver 114 are electrically connected to an input of acontroller 101 such that communication is possible therebetween. Lightincident through an optical unit 102 is converted into an electricalsignal through the image capture element 104 and the electrical signalis then input to the controller 101. The input unit 106 includes aplurality of buttons provided on the image processing device 100 and auser interface implemented as a touch screen on a display unit 110. TheGPS receiver 114 receives signals from GPS satellites and obtainsinformation of the current time and coordinates (longitude and latitude)of a position, at which the image processing device 100 is located, fromthe received signals. System software that the controller 101 uses tocontrol an overall operation of the image processing device 100 isstored in a system memory 112.

A storage unit 108 and the display unit 110 are electrically connectedto an output of the controller 101 such that communication is possibletherebetween. Images created by the image processing device 100 arestored in the storage unit 108. Examples of the storage unit 108 includea hard disk drive, a memory card, an optical disc, a magnetic tape, andthe like. The display unit 110 displays images handled at the imageprocessing device 100 and supports a touch screen to display a menu orthe like for manual operation of the image processing device 100.

The controller 101 of the image processing device 100 illustrated inFIG. 1 determines a link relation between image files created orprocessed at the image processing device 100 and records the determinedlink relation between the image files in metadata of each the imagefiles. If a link relation of an image file that has already beenrecorded in metadata is changed, the controller 101 updates the linkrelation recorded in the metadata of the image file.

FIG. 2 illustrates metadata of an image file according to an embodimentof the present general inventive concept. Metadata is a type ofattribute information and can be considered “data about data”. Metadatais data that is assigned to content according to a predetermined rule soas to efficiently search for and use desired information from among alarge amount of information. The metadata illustrated in FIG. 2 ismetadata of an image file (photograph) captured by a digital camera thatis represented in an EXchangeable Image File format (EXIF). The EXIFinformation, in which detailed additional information such as themanufacturer, model, lens, and capture conditions of the digital camerais recorded, is stored in the image file of the digital camera. Thefollowing table describes a variety of items of the metadata illustratedin FIG. 2.

ITEMS DESCRIPTIONS MAKER device (camera)'s manufacturer MODEL device(camera)'s model name SOFTWARE image processing software used mostrecently EXIF VERSION EXIF version TIME file creation (capture) timeIMAGE SIZE vertical × horizontal size of image (in units of pixels)EXPOSURE exposure time TIME F-NUMBER focal ratio EXPOSURE exposure modePROGRAM ISO SPEED ISO value RATINGS EXPOSURE exposure correction valueBIAS VALUE METERING metering mode MODE FLASH whether flash is enabled ordisabled FOCAL focal length LENGTH WHITE white balance BALANCE MACROwhether macro mode is used GPS E: east coordinate N: north coordinate IDIdentification LINK represent link relation with other image files in agroup including the image file UPPER: upper-level image file's ID LOWER:lower-level image file's ID

Specifically, the creation (capture) time indicates the time when theimage file was created (or when a corresponding image was captured). Thecapture position (GPS coordinates) indicates the coordinates(specifically, east and north coordinates) of the capture position ofthe image file received from GPS satellites. The creation (capture) timeis obtained from a clock embedded in the image processing device 100 orfrom GPS signals. Apart from a file name of each image file in a groupincluding one or more image files, an ID is uniquely assigned to eachimage file in the group. When an image file is associated with otherimage files in a group to which the image file belongs, the linkrelation LINK of the image file represents an upper or lower-level linkrelation with each of the other image files. The link relation LINK inthe metadata of the image file illustrated in FIG. 2 represents thatanother image file F3 is linked as an upper-level image file to an imagefile F2 including this metadata and another image file F1 is linked as alower-level image file to the image file F2. That is, a group includingthe image file F2 has a link relation of F3→F2→F1.

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate a method to classify image files according toan embodiment of the present general inventive concept. Specifically,FIG. 3A illustrates classification of a plurality of image files basedon the creation time (for example, capture time) and FIG. 3B illustratesclassification of a plurality of image files based on the creationposition (for example, capture position).

Classification criteria other than the creation time and positiondescribed above may also be applied to classify the image files. Forexample, when the image files are photographs, the image files may beclassified based on the focal distance, the white balance, the exposuretime, the f-number, the ISO value, the metering mode, whether the flashis used, the camera or lens model used to capture the images, etc. Whenthe image files are general image files, the image files may beclassified based on a used color space or application program, extension(JPG, TIF, BMP, etc), whether the image has been edited by the user,etc.

In the classification method illustrated in FIG. 3A, the creation timesof image files are compared and, if the difference between the creationtimes is less than a preset value (for example, one hour or day), thecompared image files are classified as one group of associated imagefiles. Alternatively, if the difference between the creation times isequal to or greater than the preset value, a determination is made thatthe compared image files are not associated so that the compared filesare classified into different groups. In FIG. 3A, image files SG100356,SG100357, and SG100358 are classified as a group A since the differencebetween the creation times of the image files is less than the presetvalue. In addition, an image file SG100359 is classified as anothergroup B since the difference between the creation times of the imagefile SG100359 and the image file SG100358 created immediately beforehandis greater than the preset value. In addition, image files SG100360 andSG100361 are classified as another group C since the difference of thecreation times of the image files SG100360 and SG100361 from that of theimage file SG100359 created immediately beforehand is greater than thepreset value. In addition to a file name, a unique ID is assigned toeach of the image files that are classified into the three groups A, B,and C. The IDs of the image files of each group have a different headcharacter from the image files of other groups so as to enableidentification of the group to which the image file belongs.Specifically, the image files of the group A have IDs of A1, A2, and A3,and the image file of the group B has an ID of B1, and the image filesof the group C have IDs of C1 and C2. The head character and the serialnumber of each ID may be set in a different fashion from that describedabove as needed.

In the case of FIG. 3B, the creation positions of image files arecompared and, if the difference between the creation positions is lessthan a preset value, the compared image files are classified as onegroup of associated image files. Alternatively, if the differencebetween the creation positions is equal to or greater than the presetvalue, a determination is made that the compared image files are notassociated so that the compared files are classified into differentgroups. In FIG. 3B, image files SG100373, SG100374, and SG100375 areclassified as a group D since the difference between the creationpositions of the image files is less than the preset value. In addition,image files SG100376 and SG100377 are classified as another group Esince the difference of the creation positions of the image filesSG100376 and SG100377 from that of the image file SG100375 createdimmediately beforehand is greater than the preset value. In addition, animage file SG100378 is classified as another group F since thedifference of the creation position of the image file SG100378 from thatof the image file SG100377 created immediately beforehand is greaterthan the preset value. In addition to a file name, a unique ID isassigned to each of the image files that are classified into the threegroups D, E, and F. The IDs of the image files of each group have adifferent head character from the image files of other groups so as toenable identification of the group to which the image file belongs.Specifically, the image files of the group D have IDs of D1, D2, and D3,and the image files of the group E have IDs of E1 and E2, and the imagefile of the group F has an ID of F1. The head character and the serialnumber of each ID may be set in a different fashion from that describedabove as needed.

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate a method to control an image processingapparatus according to an embodiment of the present general inventiveconcept and FIGS. 5A to 5E illustrate link relations of image filescreated by the method to control an image processing apparatusillustrated in FIGS. 4A and 4B. As illustrated in FIG. 4A, when a newimage file F1 is created, the controller 101 obtains information of acreation time and a creation position of the created image file F1(operation 402). The controller 101 then determines whether the newlycreated image file F1 belongs to the same group as that of an image fileF2 created immediately before the image file F1 (operation 404). Whetherthe image files F1 and F2 belong to the same group is determined basedon the difference between the creation times or positions of the twoimage files as described above with reference to FIG. 3. If the twoimage files F1 and F2 belong to the same group (“yes” in operation 406),the controller 101 determines whether another image file (for example,F3) is present above (i.e., present at an upper level above) theimmediately previously captured image file F2 (operation 408). Whetheran upper-level image file F3 is present is determined through a linkrelation LINK in metadata of the image file F2.

If another image file F3 has been linked as an upper-level image file tothe image file F2 (“yes” in operation 408), the image file F3 is also ata level above the image file F1 belonging to the same group as that ofthe image file F2. Accordingly, taking into consideration this relation,the link relation LINK in the metadata of the image file F1 is updatedsuch that the image file F3 is linked as an upper-level image file tothe image file F1 and no lower-level image file is linked to the imagefile F1 (operation 410). The link relation LINK in the metadata of theimage file F3 is also updated such that no upper-level image file islinked to the image file F3 and the two image files F2 and F1 are linkedas lower-level image files to the image file F3. As a result of thisprocedure, the three image files F3, F2, and F1 constitute one group.FIG. 5A illustrates relations between the image files F3, F2, and F1 ofthe group constituted in this manner. As illustrated in FIG. 5A, threeimage files having IDs of F1, F2, and F3 constitute one group. The imagefile F3 is linked as an upper-level image file in this group and the twoimage files F2 and F1 are linked as lower-level image files to the imagefile F3.

Returning to FIG. 4A, if no image file F3 is present above the imagefile F2 (“no” in operation 408), the two image files F2 and F1constitute one group. Taking into consideration this relation, the linkrelation LINK in the metadata of the image file F1 is updated such thatthe image file F2 is linked as an upper-level image file to the imagefile F1 and no lower-level image file is linked to the image file F1(operation 414). The link relation LINK in the metadata of the imagefile F2 is also updated such that no upper-level image file is linked tothe image file F2 and the image file F1 is linked as a lower-level imagefile to the image file F2. As a result of this procedure, the two imagefiles F2 and F1 constitute one group. FIG. 5B illustrates relationsbetween the image files F2 and F1 of the group constituted in thismanner. As illustrated in FIG. 5B, two image files having IDs of F1 andF2 constitute one group. The image file F2 is linked as an upper-levelimage file in this group and the image file F1 is linked as alower-level image file to the image file F2.

Alternatively, if the newly created image file F1 and the immediatelypreviously created image file F2 do not belong to the same group (“no”in operation 406), the controller 101 determines whether another imagefile (for example, F3) is present above the immediately previouslycreated image file F2 (operation 452 in FIG. 4B). Whether an upper-levelimage file F3 is present is determined based on the link relation LINKin the metadata of the image file F2. If the two image files F2 and F1do not belong to the same group and no image file F3 is also presentabove the image file F2 (“no” in operation 452), the two image files F2and F1 have no link relation as illustrated in FIG. 5C. Since thecreation times and the creation positions of the newly created imagefile F1 and the immediately previously created image file F2 aresignificantly different, the two image files F1 and F2 belong todifferent groups and thus have no link relation as can be seen from FIG.5C.

Returning to FIG. 4B, the controller 101 determines whether anotherimage file (for example, F4) is present above the image file F3(operation 454). Whether another upper-level image file F4 is present isdetermined based on the link relation LINK in the metadata of the imagefile F3. If no upper-level image file F4 is present above the image fileF3 (“no” in operation 454), only the two image files F3 and F2 have anupper and lower-level link relation while the newly created image fileF1 has no link relation with the remaining two image files F3 and F2 ascan be seen from FIG. 5D.

Alternatively, if another upper-level image file (for example, F4) ispresent above the image file F3 (“yes” in operation 454), the four imagefiles F4, F3, F2, and F1 have a link relation with each other such thatthe respective image files all belong to the same group. Accordingly,taking into consideration this relation, the link relation LINK in themetadata of the image file F1 is updated such that the image file F4 islinked as an upper-level image file to the image file F1. The linkrelation LINK in the metadata of the image file F2 is also updated suchthat the image file F3 is linked as an upper-level image file to theimage file F2 and no lower-level image file is linked to the image fileF2. The link relation LINK in the metadata of the image file F3 is alsoupdated such that the image file F4 is linked as an upper-level imagefile to the image file F3 and the image file F2 is linked as alower-level image file to the image file F3. The link relation LINK inthe metadata of the image file F4 is also updated such that noupper-level image file is linked to the image file F4 and the imagefiles F3 and F1 are linked as lower-level image files to the image fileF4. As a result of this procedure, the four image files F4, F3, F2, andF1 constitute one group. FIG. 5E illustrates relations between the imagefiles F4, F3, F2, and F1 of the group constituted in this manner. Asillustrated in FIG. 5E, the three image files F2, F3, and F4 have aseries-link relation such that the image file F3 is linked as anupper-level image file to the image file F2 and the image file F4 islinked as an upper-level image file to the image file F3. In addition,the newly created image file F1 is linked to the uppermost-level imagefile F4 such that the four image files F4, F3, F2, and F1 constitute onegroup.

FIG. 6 illustrates a method to control an image processing apparatusaccording to another embodiment of the present general inventive conceptand FIG. 7 illustrates link relations of image files created by themethod to control an image processing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 6.Here, the method to control an image processing apparatus illustrated inFIG. 6 is applied as a method to process a plurality of image filescreated in a continuous shooting mode of a digital camera that is a typeof image processing apparatus. In the continuous shooting mode of thedigital camera, the shutter is automatically released repeatedly anumber of times while the user presses a shutter release button, therebytaking a series of photographs.

First, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the controller 101 obtains a pluralityof image files created in the continuous shooting mode of the imageprocessing device 100 (a digital camera in this embodiment) (operation602). The plurality of image files created in the continuous shootingmode sufficiently satisfies the condition for constituting one groupsince the creation (shooting or capture) times of the image files are atvery small intervals (typically, 3 to 7 or more photographs are takenper second) and the photographs are taken at the same place. When theplurality of image files F4 to F1 created in the continuous shootingmode is obtained, the controller 101 sets the first captured image fileF4 among the plurality of image files F4, F3, F2, and F1 as anupper-level image file (operation 604). The controller 101 then sets theimage files F3, F2, and F1 other than the first captured image file F4as lower-level image files (operation 606). When the setting of the linkrelation of the plurality of image files F4, F3, F2, and F1 iscompleted, the controller 101 updates the link relation LINK in metadataof each of the image files F4, F3, F2, and F1. Specifically, thecontroller 101 updates the link relation LINK in the metadata of theimage file F4 such that no upper-level image file is linked to the imagefile F4 and three lower-level image files F3, F2, and F1 are linked tothe image file F4 (operation 608). In addition, the controller 101updates the link relation LINK in the metadata of each of the remainingimage files F3, F2, AND F1 such that the first created image file F4 islinked as an upper-level image file to the image file and no lower-levelimage file is linked to the image file (operation 610).

As a result of this procedure, the four image files F4, F3, F2, and F1created in the continuous shooting mode constitute one group. FIG. 7illustrates relations between the image files F4, F3, F2, and F1 of thegroup constituted in this manner. As illustrated in FIG. 7, noupper-level image file is linked to the first created image file F4among the plurality of image files F4, F3, F2, and F1 created in thecontinuous shooting mode and the remaining image files F3, F2, and F1are linked as lower-level image files to the image file F4. In addition,the first created image file F4 is linked as an upper-level image fileto each of the three image files F3, F2, and F1. If the images capturedthrough one shooting operation in the continuous shooting mode aregrouped into a group and the link relation of the images of the group isrecorded in this manner, conveniently checking and processing the imageson a browser or the like in the future is possible.

FIG. 8 illustrates a system to control an image processing deviceaccording to another embodiment of the present general inventiveconcept. The image processing device 800 of FIG. 8 includes a devicethat directly displays digital images such as a Personal Computer (PC),a laptop, or a Portable Multimedia Player (PMP), a device that displaysdigital images in an icon format or in a thumbnail format, or a devicethat executes an application program to edit digital images.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, an input unit 806 is electrically connected toan input of a controller 801 such that communication is possibletherebetween. The input unit 806 allows the user to select an image fileand to input image processing commands. The controller 101 controls theoverall operation of the image processing device 800. System software toaccomplish this is stored in a system memory 812. A display unit 810displays digital images directly or in an icon or thumbnail format.Images handled in the image processing device 800 are stored in astorage unit 808 that is provided in the image processing device 800 andis electrically connected to the controller 801. Examples of the storageunit 808 used in the image processing device 800 include a hard diskdrive, a memory card, an optical disc, and a magnetic tape.

The controller 801 of the image processing device 800 illustrated inFIG. 8 determines a link relation between image files created orprocessed at the image processing device 800 and records the determinedlink relation between the image files in metadata of each the imagefiles. If a link relation of an image file that has already beenrecorded in metadata is changed, the controller 801 updates the linkrelation recorded in the metadata of the image file. The controller 801is also involved in editing and storing images based on inputs from theuser.

FIG. 9 illustrates a method to control an image processing apparatusaccording to another embodiment of the present general inventive conceptand FIG. 10 illustrates link relations of image files created by themethod to control an image processing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 9.In the method to control an image processing apparatus illustrated inFIG. 9, link relations between a plurality of image files displayed onthe display unit 810 of the image processing device 800 are set based onuser selection and selected image files are classified as a group.

As illustrated in FIG. 9, when the user selects a directory in which aplurality of image files F4-F1 is stored on the display unit 810 of theimage processing device 800 (for example, a PC), the controller 801displays the plurality of image files F4-F1 of the directory selected bythe user on the display unit 810 (operation 902). Images of the imagefiles may be directly displayed on the display unit 810 or may bedisplayed in an icon format or in a thumbnail format. When the userselects an image file (for example, F4) to be set as an upper-levelimage file among the plurality of image files F4, F3, F2, and F1displayed on the display unit 810, the controller 801 receives the userselection of the upper-level image file (operation 904). Then, when theuser selects at least one image file F3, F2, or F1 to be set as alower-level image file from the image files F3, F2, and F1 other thanthe selected image file F4 among the plurality of image files F4, F3,F2, and F1 displayed on the display unit 810, the controller 801receives the user selection of at least one lower-level image file(operation 906). When the selection of the image file F4 and thelower-level image files F3, F2, and F1 is completed, the user inputs anupdate command so as to reflect the selection of the upper andlower-level image files in each of the image files F4, F3, F2, and F1and the controller 801 then receives the update command (operation 908).Upon receiving the update command, the controller 801 updates and storesa link relation LINK in metadata of each of the selected image files F4,F3, F2, and F1 (operation 910).

As a result of this procedure, the four image files F4, F3, F2, and F1constitute one group. FIG. 10 illustrates relations between the imagefiles F4, F3, F2, and F1 of the group constituted in this manner. Asillustrated in FIG. 10, no upper-level image file is linked to the imagefile F4 that the user has selected as an upper-level image file fromamong the plurality of image files F4, F3, F2, and F1 and the imagefiles F3, F2, and F1 that the user has selected as lower-level imagefiles are linked as lower-level image files to the image file F4. Inaddition, the image file F4 that the user has selected as an upper-levelimage file is linked as an upper-level image file to each of the imagefiles F3, F2, and F1 and no lower-level image file is linked to each ofthe image files F3, F2, and F1. The image files F4, F3, F2, and F1 areunlikely grouped together based on the creation time or the creation(GPS) position since the creation times and the creation positions ofthe image files are at very large intervals as can been seen from FIG.10. However, the method to control an image processing apparatusaccording to the embodiment of the present general inventive concept asillustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10 can be applied when the user desires toarbitrarily group the plurality of image files F4, F3, F2, and F1 and toestablish link relations therebetween. For example, this method can beapplied when the user desires to collect and group photographs obtainedby capturing an image of a specific person and to assign a link relationto each of the photographs.

FIG. 11 illustrates a method to control an image processing apparatusaccording to another embodiment of the present general inventive conceptand FIG. 12 illustrates link relations of image files created by themethod to control an image processing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 11.In the method to control an image processing apparatus illustrated inFIG. 11, when the user opens an image file and edits a correspondingimage, a link relation in metadata of each of the original image fileand the edited image file is updated based on a link relation betweenthe original image file and the edited image file.

As illustrated in FIG. 11, when the user selects an image file F4 to beedited on the display unit 810 of the image processing device 800 (forexample, a PC), the controller 801 receives selection of the image fileF4 (operation1102). Then, the user edits an image of the image file F4through operation of the input unit 806 (operation1104). When theedition of the image file F4 is completed, the controller 801 creates anew image file F3 in which the edition is reflected and updates andstores metadata of the image file F3 (operation1106). That is, thecontroller 801 updates a link relation LINK in metadata of the imagefile F3 such that the original image file F4 is linked as an upper-levelimage file to the image file F3 newly created through the edition and nolower-level image file is linked to the image file F3. The controller801 also updates metadata of the original image file F4 as the imagefile F3 is created (operation 1108). That is, the controller 801 updatesa link relation LINK in metadata of the image file F4 such that noupper-level image file is linked to the original image file F4 and thenewly created image file F3 is linked as a lower-level image file to theoriginal image file F4.

The controller 801 then determines whether the user has additionallyedited the image file F3 newly created through the edition by the user(operation 1110). If the user has additionally edited the image file F3(“yes” in operation 1110), the controller 801 creates a new image fileF2 in which the additional edition is reflected and updates and storesmetadata of the image file F2 (operation 1112). The previously editedimage file F3 is linked as an upper-level image file to the additionallyedited image file F2 and no lower-level image file is linked to theimage file F2. The controller 801 also updates a link relation LINK inthe metadata of the previously edited image file F3 as the additionallyedited image file F2 is created (operation 1114). That is, thecontroller 801 updates the link relation LINK in the metadata of thepreviously edited image file F3 such that the original image file F4 islinked as an upper-level image file to the image file F3 as in theprevious edition and the image file F2 newly created through theadditional edition is linked as a lower-level image file to the imagefile F3. The controller 801 also updates the link relation LINK in themetadata of the original image file F4 based on the change of the linkrelation as the additionally edited image file F2 is created (operation1116). That is, no upper-level image file is linked to the originalimage file F4 and both the image file F2 newly created through theadditional edition and the previously edited image file F3 are linked aslower-level image files to the original image file F4. If anotheredition is applied to the original image file F4 (“yes” in operation1118), the controller 801 returns to the operation 1104 for initialedition of the original image file F4 to repeat operations 1104 to 1108.

As a result of this procedure, the four image files F4, F3, F2, and F1constitute one group. FIG. 12 illustrates relations between the imagefiles F4, F3, F2, and F1 of the group constituted in this manner. Asillustrated in FIG. 12, the original image file F4 is edited to create anew image file F3 and the edited image file F3 is additionally edited tocreate a new image file F2 to establish link relations between the imagefiles F3, F2, and F1. In addition, if the original image file F4 isadditionally edited to create an image file F1, a new link relation isestablished between the additionally edited image file F1 and theoriginal image file F4. This link relation is recorded in the linkrelation LINK in the metadata of each of the image files F4, F3, F2, andF1. That is, the previously edited image file F3 is linked as anupper-level image file to the additionally edited image file F2 and nolower-level image file is linked to the image file F2. The link relationLINK in the metadata of the previously edited image file F3 is alsoupdated due to the creation of the additionally edited image file F2(operation 1114). That is, the link relation LINK in the metadata of theimage file F3 is updated such that the original image file F4 is linkedas an upper-level image file to the previously edited image file F3 asin the previous edition and the image file F2 newly created through theadditional edition is linked as a lower-level image file to the imagefile F3.

FIG. 13 illustrates a method to control an image processing apparatusaccording to an embodiment of the present general inventive concept andFIG. 14 illustrates how image files are displayed according to themethod to control an image processing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 13.In the method to control an image processing apparatus illustrated inFIG. 13, when the user selects one of a plurality of image files betweenwhich link relations have already been established, the controller 801rearranges display positions of other image files belonging to the samegroup as that of the selected image file according to link relationsbetween the image files and then displays the image files on the displayunit. This allows the user to easily determine image files belonging tothe corresponding group and link relations between the image files.

As illustrated in FIG. 13, the controller 801 receives the selection ofan image file SG100356 among a plurality of image files displayed on thedisplay unit 810 from the user (operation 1302). When the user selectionis completed, the controller 801 searches for other image files of agroup to which the selected image file SG100356 belongs (operation1303). The controller 801 then reads a link relation LINK of each of theimage files belonging to the found group (operation 1304). When both thegroup to which the image file SG100356 selected by the user belong andall image files of the group are obtained, the controller 801 determinesnew display positions of the image files based on the link relation LINKof each of the image files (operation 1306) and displays the image filesat the newly determined display positions (operation 1308). Inidentifying link relations of the selected image files, displaying onlyimage files of the corresponding group and not image files of othergroups on the display unit is advantageous.

FIG. 14 illustrates a screen 1410 a of the display unit before displaypositions of other image files of the group to which the image fileSG100356 selected by the user belong are rearranged and a screen 1410 bof the display unit after the rearrangement. Before the rearrangement,the image files are displayed in an arrangement in which identifyinglink relations between the image files by the user is difficult (see“1410 a” in FIG. 14). When the rearrangement has been made according tothe method to control an image processing apparatus according to theembodiment of the present general inventive concept, the user can easilyidentify the link relations between the image files of the group towhich the selected image file SG100356 belongs (see “1410 b” in FIG.14). If a highlight or other special mark is applied to theuppermost-level image file SG100356 in addition to the rearrangement,the user can more easily identify the representative image file (forexample, the image file SG100356 in FIG. 14) of the currently displayedgroup.

The present general inventive concept can also be embodied ascomputer-readable codes on a computer-readable medium. Thecomputer-readable medium can include a computer-readable recordingmedium and a computer-readable transmission medium. Thecomputer-readable recording medium is any data storage device that canstore data that can be thereafter read by a computer system. Examples ofthe computer-readable recording medium include read-only memory (ROM),random-access memory (RAM), CD-ROMs, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, andoptical data storage devices. The computer-readable recording medium canalso be distributed over network coupled computer systems so that thecomputer-readable code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion.The computer-readable transmission medium can transmit carrier waves orsignals (e.g., wired or wireless data transmission through theInternet). Also, functional programs, codes, and code segments toaccomplish the present general inventive concept can be easily construedby programmers skilled in the art to which the present general inventiveconcept pertains.

As is apparent from the above description, according to the presentgeneral inventive concept, a large number of image files are more easilyand conveniently classified since linkage information representingrelations between a plurality of image files is recorded as metadata ineach of the plurality of image files.

Although various embodiments of the present general inventive concepthave been illustrated and described, it would be appreciated by thoseskilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments withoutdeparting from the principles and spirit of the general inventiveconcept, the scope of which is defined in the claims and theirequivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method to control an image processingapparatus, the method comprising: displaying a plurality of image files,each including metadata in which linkage information representing ahierarchical relation with other image files is recorded, on a screen;reading the linkage information of each of the plurality of image files;and displaying the plurality of image files at new display positionsdetermined based on the read linkage information.
 2. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the linkage information recorded in themetadata of each of the plurality of image files includes information oflevels, relative to the image file, of other image files of theplurality of image files, the relative levels being classified intoupper and lower levels.
 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein thedisplay positions of the plurality of image files are determined basedon the relative levels of the plurality of image files.
 4. The methodaccording to claim 1, further comprising: identifying image filessatisfying a predetermined condition among the plurality of image filesbased on the linkage information.
 5. The method according to claim 1,further comprising: determining a link relation between the plurality ofimage files based on the linkage information.
 6. The method according toclaim 1, receiving a determination of a relation between the pluralityof image files; obtaining linkage information representing a relationbetween the plurality of image files based on a selection made for thedetermination of the relation; and recording the linkage information asmetadata in each of the plurality of image files.
 7. The methodaccording to claim 6, wherein the linkage information recorded in themetadata of each of the plurality of image files includes information oflevels, relative to the image file, of other image files of theplurality of image files, the relative levels being classified intoupper and lower levels.
 8. The method according to claim 7, wherein thedetermination of the relation between the plurality of image filesincludes selecting an image file from the plurality of image files as anupper-level image file and selecting each of remaining image files amongthe plurality of image files as a lower-level image file.
 9. The methodaccording to claim 8, wherein the image processing apparatus includes adisplay unit to display the plurality of image files on a screen, andthe selection of the upper and lower-level image files of the pluralityof image files is made through a user selection for the plurality ofimage files displayed on the screen of the display unit.
 10. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the linkage information including creationtime and creation position of the image file.
 11. An image processingapparatus, the apparatus comprising: display unit to display a pluralityof image files, each including metadata in which linkage informationrepresenting a hierarchical relation with other image files is recorded,on a screen; and a controller to read the linkage information of each ofthe plurality of image files, and to control the display unit to displaythe plurality of image files at new display positions determined basedon the read linkage information.
 12. The apparatus according to claim11, wherein the linkage information recorded in the metadata of each ofthe plurality of image files includes information of levels, relative tothe image file, of other image files of the plurality of image files,the relative levels being classified into upper and lower levels. 13.The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the display positions ofthe plurality of image files are determined based on the relative levelsof the plurality of image files.
 14. The apparatus according to claim11, further comprising: identifying image files satisfying apredetermined condition among the plurality of image files based on thelinkage information.
 15. The apparatus according to claim 11, furthercomprising: determining a link relation between the plurality of imagefiles based on the linkage information.
 16. The apparatus according toclaim 11, receiving a determination of a relation between the pluralityof image files; obtaining linkage information representing a relationbetween the plurality of image files based on a selection made for thedetermination of the relation; and recording the linkage information asmetadata in each of the plurality of image files.
 17. The apparatusaccording to claim 16, wherein the linkage information recorded in themetadata of each of the plurality of image files includes information oflevels, relative to the image file, of other image files of theplurality of image files, the relative levels being classified intoupper and lower levels.
 18. The apparatus according to claim 17, whereinthe determination of the relation between the plurality of image filesincludes selecting an image file from the plurality of image files as anupper-level image file and selecting each of remaining image files amongthe plurality of image files as a lower-level image file.
 19. Theapparatus according to claim 18, wherein the image processing apparatusincludes a display unit to display the plurality of image files on ascreen, and the selection of the upper and lower-level image files ofthe plurality of image files is made through a user selection for theplurality of image files displayed on the screen of the display unit.20. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the linkage informationincluding creation time and creation position of the image file.